Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller said on Thursday said he favors cutting the Fed's policy rate in July. He also discussed the Fed's balance sheet and why it should continue to pay interest on bank reserves.

The right to freedom of speech allows Trump to make demands of the Fed to his heart's content. But legally, he cannot compel the central bank to lower its benchmark interest rate. The Fed has the right to act independently, and its aim is to promote a healthy and stable economy by keeping inflation in check.

The newly published meeting minutes highlighted a divide over how Federal Reserve officials expect the economy to respond to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Trump hopes to get lower rates by replacing Fed Chair Jerome Powell with someone who would do what the president wants. But Powell’s term as chair does not end until May 2026. He’s insisted he won’t resign early.

Policy is rightly locked on hold over the near-term in part because the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration’s tariff regime remains unusually high.

The latest round of tariff threats from President Trump could spark fresh concerns about inflation, which might force the Federal Reserve to maintain its wait-and-see posture on interest-rate cuts, sa

The president hasn’t named a successor to Jerome H. Powell, but his insistence on someone who will lower interest rates has already raised doubts about their credibility.

The Fed report suggests that a higher prime rate is causing, at least in part, growth in card interest rates. The prime rate remained stable at 7.5% throughout the first quarter. But it is still much higher than it was during the beginning of the 2020s, when it wasn’t uncommon to see the benchmark rate fall between 3.25% and 5.5%.